The Valiant
by Danjor
Summary: I see you are still preaching the ways of a peaceful government. Kenshin stopped in midstride to glance towards the scarred fellow, the two locked eyes in a gaze that said so much I could barley register any thing else. The chaos of the revolution is over


The Valiant

Chapter One: Can't Fight the Moonlight

Early graduation had never been my plan, nor had giving up Julliard but life throws things at you you'll never expect. Looking back as I prepare this story I realize that it was all worth it because I got to know him. Not all the facts are known because he wasn't always open to telling it to everyone, however I'll tell you all that I know, I'll tell you how our world kept from falling apart because of one man, and I'll tell you how it wasn't the first time. This is his story.

Karou stood at the door way of her small kitchen, he would be coming over for dinner tonight and she had no idea what to cook. After taking a deep soothing breath she walked in to her source of most frustration, the kitchen. The young woman had never been very skilled at cooking and there for ate out a lot, tonight however, was so much different. Tonight she was positive Kenshin was going to take their relationship to the next level, and for that she would do anything.

It didn't take her long to destroy the homey kitchen in her one bedroom rambler and turn it into a mess, she burnt the noodles, she couldn't figure out how to turn the oven on to bake the pre-made cookie dough, and the sauce, well lets just say it was emitting a very odd smell. That's when it happened, her door bell rang. She froze in mid-step was it time all ready? She looked to the clock; no she still had an hour. Making a quick dash to the window so she could peak into the drive way to investigate who could be here. That was Kenshin's black Jeep all right, but why so early? Maybe he couldn't wait to see me! Karou shrieked within her head. Taking a moment to look over her mess she had no where to start for the task of cleaning it up, in a mad flurry she poured the cookie dough into the blender and made it look like she made it and covered herself in a pinch of flower. Stopping to look in her bathroom mirror as the doorbell rang a second time she couldn't believe what a mess she looked. Her dark ebony hair which had been pulled into a quick ponytail was covered lightly in flower, she had on a pink sweater from her college days and a pair of baggy jeans.

And I expect him to seduce me in this?

There was the door bell again, she stopped her worrying and answered it. There he was, looking amazing as always, his long red hair was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, he had on a deep red button up shirt, a pair of black slacks with black loafers.

"Baking?" he asked with that Kenshin smile of his.

Karou blushed slightly before shrugging. "Attempting to. Want to come in?"

Kenshin's smile looked slightly strained, "You shouldn't have." Karou didn't seem to notice that tone in his voice, the one that was leading to something horrible.

"You shouldn't say that until you see what I've made." Oh was he going to be disappointed in her cooking skills, he was probably expecting to go out with the way he was dressed, she should have realized that.

"I can smell, what is burning?"

She paused; she forgot to turn off the stove! "Oh no!" she ran the six paces it took to get to her kitchen and stared at the mess that was boiling over in her sauce pan. "Shit!"

Kenshin chuckled, grabbed a towel and lifted the pot off the stove and set it in the sink. "Hmm, maybe you should have tried something simpler, like macaroni and cheese instead of alfrado."

"Hey, shut up." she folded her arms and looked away from him. She couldn't keep it up forever however, and was soon back to staring into his beautiful eyes, "If you want to wait just a minuet we can go out and eat."

Kenshin sucked in a deep breath through his front teeth and looked around. "I don't have time, I have to go here in a few."

"When will you be back?"

Kenshin didn't look around this time, he met her strait in the eyes, "I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk."

Her insides that had been full of butterfly's moments before were now churning in fear, "What do you mean? Today you said you wanted to see me tonight, but your leaving for where? Will you be back in time for work?"

"I gave my two weeks notice a while back, I'm moving away from here and the odds of me coming back are small."

Now her insides had disappeared all together, "But Kenshin? Why?"

Kenshin sighed and hugged her, "I have to, I can't stay any longer. I'm so sorry Miss Karou."

She shoved him severing any contact he was making, "What? Is this why you move around a lot? Find a girl lead her on say sweet things to her, then when it gets too close to being a relationship you move away. Little drastic don't you think?" Karou was so upset she wanted him to hug her forever while she cried into his chest but there was no way in hell she was letting 'Don Juan' here take advantage of her emotions any more.

"Karou its-"

"get out."

Kenshin didn't say anything else, he hung his head low and walked through the small living room/dining room and to the front door. "I'm sorry Karou." he whispered too low for her to hear and walked out of there.

He continued out to his black jeep that was loaded with a few suite cases of clothes and he only friend Sano. Kenshin didn't say anything as he got into the drivers seat and turned the engine over. "How did she take it?" asked his younger friend Sano over the hum of the engine.

"How do you think?"

"I'm sorry Kenshin, but staying would only-"

Kenshin nodded and cut him off. "I know Sano, and I promised I would never do that to anyone, ever, but I felt a connection with her. I couldn't resist. For half a minuet I was going to ask her to come with us."

Sano nodded, "Are you ready?"

Kenshin nodded and backed out of the drive way.

On the inside of Karou's house however, she was dieing on the inside. After throwing a temper tantrum and throwing all the food she had in the garbage and destroying a pillow she took to laying on her couch in agony.

Ten Months Later

"Was I the only one who went to the meeting?" Government class would have to be my favorite class. I come from a very political family so when the topic comes up I have a lot to say.

"yes." commented one of the snide boys in the front row.

I glared at Ricky, and he shut up just like that. "Wyoming is a conservative state." I continued "because we believe in little interference from the government and want to take care of ourselves. I think their exact words were 'This is Wyoming by god we have the right to have a gun in our rack and a beer in our hand'."

"That's correct!" Mr. Himura stood from the desk he had been sitting on and went to the board where he began to write conservative. "And that is what is so great about the United States. The way the constitution is set up there is a division of powers, states have the right to choose what they want for their own citizens as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone's civil rights or-" And on he continued.

Mister Himura was an odd one, well the oddest government teacher I had ever had. Unlike the others who taught us the history of the constitution like who wrote it, who signed it, and what year this all happened. He believed in teaching us how it worked, the importance of using it, and how even though its not perfect it's the longest standing form of government around. He was hell bent to make sure that we realized that we had the power and damn it we better use it. Trust me, Mr. Himura knows what he is talking about and has taught his students much more effectively than any teacher before, I should know I've all ready failed this class. I have a problem with homework, I never feel like doing it.

"Miss Misou?" I glanced up at the sound of my name.

"Yes?"

"Can I see you after class?"

What? No he can't see me after class this is the last class of the day and I have practice. If a teacher didn't know that they needed to learn because nothing came between me and my dancing. "But I have practice-"

He cut me off before I could give him a verbal lashing for even entertaining the simple thought that he could occupy my time that I had reserved for dancing and dancing alone. "It will only be a minuet, I'm sure Mrs. Shetler will understand considering I have all ready called her."

Oh the little jerk, he had this all planned, but what? I'm passing, I think... bastard. "Yes sir." I slumped my head on to my palm and stared blankly at the clock as he continued to tell us our homework for the evening and then the bell rang, everyone in the room began to rise except me, I had to stay because Mr. Himura decided he was a hero.

"Miss Misou?" he asked and I looked at him. "As I understand the school play will be this Friday."

"Yes, that's why I need to get-"

"You also have a paper due that day." Paper? What? He must have read my mind because before I could say anything he continued. "its worth more points than you can afford to lose. I hope you remember that because you're a senior this year and I don't want you to flunk out."

I glared at him, never had I hated a man so much as this. "I've got it covered."

"You know Misou, I have a very good friend who works with the admissions to Julliard." He had my attention, I think I need a tissue or something because I'm making a mess with the drool now emitting from my mouth. "and he is coming to visit me this weekend, I mentioned that I was attending a play put on by the students here and there was an exceptional dancer who quit the dance team because they weren't as focused on it as she was. He thinks he would care to see it, but the lead dancer won't be aloud to perform if her grade in government isn't a passing one by Friday."

Damn it, "But I don't get it done because I'm dancing." I moaned "I understand all this government wishy washy, can't you tell?"

"Yes, that's why I think you'll have an easy time with these packets I'm giving you to earn back some points." I grabbed the stack he was handing to me and headed towards the door, "Oh and Misou, is it your grandfather who owns that bar in the valley? John's Bar I do believe?"

I nodded slightly, "Yeah, its been in the family for years. Why?"

"Just idle curiosity." he stood and began to pick up the things around him, I left him there to go about his business and sprinted to dance.

"Excuse me miss?"

Karou turned around at the sound of the voice. the man now standing behind her was a foot taller than her, his skin was dark as was his hair. For some weird reason she was intimidated by him but held her ground none the less. "What can I do for you?" She had been up in the teachers lounge all day trying to get enough papers ran off to supply the sub while she was gone for the rest of the week.

"I'm looking for Kenshin Himura. I have reports telling me that he used to work here and was seen in your company several times."

Just when she had managed to push him out of her head here he was, rearing his ugly memory once again. "He moved about ten months ago." she commented in a would be nonchalant voice if the tinge of longing hadn't been there.

"Well if you see him I would much appreciate if you would contact me." the dark man handed Karou a business card. "My cell phone number is on the back."

Karou paused as she looked over the name and the title next to it. "Private detective?" she asked "What? Is he in some sort of trouble?"

The fellow looked around as if to check for listeners then stroked his beard slightly. "I am not aloud to disclose this information but as you are close to the man himself I feel it is my civic duty to warn you of just who he is. In other times he has been called Battousai the Manslayer. He's killed more people than students in this school."

Karou felt sick to her stomach, she could have been. "This is why I'm telling you to please call me, as soon as you catch wind of him."

All Karou could do was fall to a chair and stare blankly at the wall, the officer known as Gohei Hiruma left, leaving her with a piece of information to chew on.

"Are you ok?"

Karou looked up at her coworker, her name was Megumi and worked as a nurse for the high school in Buckeye Arizona. The two of them started working here the same year and formed a sort of bond you could say, Karou longed after a fellow then Megumi longed after him, that longing would turn into a silent battle then the fellow would get freaked out and abandon the thoughts of entertaining either of them. They would shrug it off, go out, and it would start all over again. "Did you hear that officer?" she asked running her hands through her hair, trying to make them quit trembling.

Megumi nodded and began fixing her some tea, "Not a very good detective if you ask me." started Megumi as she continued to make the tea for Karou. "After all it took him ten months to track him to here, then he didn't change his name. That is what confuses me, he didn't say there were any other alias's for Kenshin yet he worked for a job ran by the government. The school board screens and re screens everyone who teaches the youth of the country. Its just not fitting if you ask me."

Karou didn't know what to say, "I'm sure there is a lot that we don't know, but he did just arrive here with no real information about his past, him and that friend of his, Then the both of them just left town. Just like that."

"It was suspicious." Megumi admitted "Oh well, at least he is gone from out lives. And to think, you wanted him to call after he left."

Karou glared at Megumi, this wasn't a time to be joking and Megumi sat next to her at the plastic yellow table with the matching ugly chairs. No school was complete without such luxuries as these. "You can put it all behind you." Karou continued to glare; she obviously didn't think Megumi was taking this serious enough. "Look I'm not telling you to sleep with your doors unlocked and windows open, or go for a walk down an alley way in the dead of night. I'm just saying don't let it paralyze you ok? You and I are leaving after school tonight for a vacation that we both need and we don't have to be back until Sunday."

"What do you mean we need it? We just had three months off, and this isn't a vacation. We are going to your aunts funeral."

Megumi waved her hand. "Minor details." the two sat there for a moment, sipping on their tea before Karou finally rose. "I'm going to class." she mumbled. "And we are going to watch a movie and if the principal comes in and tries to chew me out I'm giving him a what for."

"That's the way to do it." Megumi too rose, "I've got to go, a kid poked himself in the eye and is trying to tell me he has pink eye."

"Remind me why we are still here?" asked Sano as he bounced a ball against the apartment wall. "We have been her how long and haven't found anything."

Kenshin set his school things on the table and walked towards him, catching the ball in midair so it wouldn't hit his sword that was mounted on the wall. "Because this is where it is supposed to happen."

Sano didn't seem to like this, he stretched and popped his neck before placing his hands in to the back pockets of his faded jeans. "Whatever you say, look I'm going out and eating tonight, are you going to come with me?"

Kenshin nodded, "I need to, its been a while."

"All right, you and me, out on the town once again."

Kenshin smiled at his friend and looked out to the sky, it was getting dark and the crescent moon was rising over the Uinta Mountains in the distance. Kenshin turned as he heard the loud crack from Sano's spin and instead of seeing the tall dark haired man there was now a large wolf with massive fangs, and fur the color of Sano's hair covering his body. Kenshin followed his lead and felt his body change. The arms in the front lengthened while the back ones shortened, his muscles popped and tensed, his nose lengthened into a snout and red hair began to sprout, and finally the crack from his spine that meant the transformation was complete.

The two were now large wolves, werewolves if you prefer.

…………..

I do not own anything

Have a nice day

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